duplicate

[noun, adjective doo-pli-kit, dyoo-; verb doo-pli-keyt, dyoo-]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR duplicate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a copy exactly like an original.

anything corresponding in all respects to something else.

Cards. a duplicate game.

verb (used with object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

to make an exact copy of.

to do or perform again; repeat: He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.

to double; make twofold.

verb (used without object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

to become duplicate.

adjective

exactly like or corresponding to something else: duplicate copies of a letter.

consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.

Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.

Nearby words

Idioms

in duplicate, in two copies, especially two identical copies: Please type the letter in duplicate.

Origin of duplicate

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre to make double), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex) duplex + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR duplicate

1. facsimile, replica, reproduction. 4. See imitate. 9. twofold.

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ANTONYMS FOR duplicate

1. original.

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Related forms

du·pli·ca·tive, adjectivenon·du·pli·cat·ing, adjectivenon·du·pli·ca·tive, adjectivepre·du·pli·cate, verb (used with object), pre·du·pli·cat·ed, pre·du·pli·cat·ing.

qua·si-du·pli·cate, adjectiveself-du·pli·cat·ing, adjectiveun·du·pli·cat·ed, adjectiveun·du·pli·ca·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for duplicate

He lost the bet on the twenty-eighth question, when a duplicate birthday turned up.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man|John Lardner|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wayne has infused the whole operation with a spirit of joy and dedication that is stealth seasoning no one can duplicate.
The Texas Church of Beef|Jane & Michael Stern|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And it does seem true that Bitcoins are very hard to forge or duplicate.
Inside Japan’s Bitcoin Heist|Jake Adelstein|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Son of God is trying to duplicate the grassroots strategy that paid off for Gibson.
Will ‘Son of God’ Be the Next Grassroots Christian Blockbuster?|Myra Adams|February 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Illegible handwriting and typos lead to errors and duplicate entries.
A Bipartisan Path to Fixing America’s Broken Elections|Michael Waldman|January 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This the Echo, with very little hesitation, repeated in duplicate as usual.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 26, September 24, 1870|Various
Inside the annex to the lighthouse were the duplicate engines for filling tanks with compressed air.
Some Naval Yarns|Mordaunt Hall
Soon after the action, we were ordered to Spithead, with duplicate despatches.
Frank Mildmay|Captain Frederick Marryat
A numbered check is given to the employee and a duplicate attached to the parcel.
How Department Stores Are Carried On|W. B. Phillips
In a few minutes he looked at his watch, and then pulled out a note, a duplicate of the one she had herself received.
The Mayor of Casterbridge|Thomas Hardy

British Dictionary definitions for duplicate

duplicate

adjective (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)

copied exactly from an original

identical

existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold

noun (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)

an exact copy; double

something additional or supplementary of the same kind

two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate)

verb (ˈdjuːplɪˌkeɪt)

(tr) to make a replica of

(tr) to do or make again

(tr) to make in a pair; make double

(intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical partsthe chromosomes duplicated in mitosis

Derived Formsduplicable (ˈdjuːplɪkəbəl), adjectiveduplicability, nounduplicately, adverbduplicative, adjective

Word Origin for duplicate

C15: from Latin duplicāre to double, from duo two + plicāre to fold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for duplicate

duplicate

adj.

mid-15c., "having two parts, double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare "to double," from duo "two" (see two) + plicare "to fold" see ply (v.1)). Meaning "exactly corresponding, that is an exact copy of" is from 1812.

duplicate

1620s, "to double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare (see duplicate (adj.)). Meaning "make an exact copy" is from 1640s (implied in duplicated). Related: Duplicating. The noun is first recorded 1530s.

duplicate

noun

verb (used with object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

verb (used without object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

adjective

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Idioms

Origin of duplicate

Examples from the Web for duplicate

duplicate

adjective (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)

noun (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)

verb (ˈdjuːplɪˌkeɪt)

Word Origin for duplicate

duplicate

duplicate